The Eleanor kit

If you’re looking at body kits for your Mustang, there’s a variety of options to consider. Of course the main one is price, as sometimes you will get what you pay for but this doesn’t mean paying through the nose just to fit a kit that doesn’t look all that great, leaving you with a substandard look and an empty wallet.

So I decided to take a look at kits and show you what the potential of some of the better ones could be. Of course, modifying your car is simple enough, as long as you know your stuff.

So seeing as the car is going in in the next few weeks to get some body work and get part of the kit fitted I thought id post the kit I’m using. There are heaps of kit’s out there, lots of which are poor in quality and relatively cheap, however the one I went with is Australian made and is worth the extra cash.

You will notice the upper (and lower) side scoops are moulded closed, these will be cut open as both will be made functional.

Now here’s a closer look of the bits and pieces and the support brace for the front end.

I’ll post the photos of the kit being fitted as soon as i can. Till then enjoy the photos (and the finished product also in the photos)

Oh and also.. stay tuned.. i’ve got some good posts coming up soon regarding the kit. It’s almost done, and when it is we’re going to roll her out into the sun and get some high res full body shots. It’s hard to get good photos at the moment as it’s a small shed.

Cheers
Cam

peter pap
September 19, 2007 at 6:49 am

Hi there Cameron thanks for the reply if you don’t mind please ca you send me the information for buying the kit
Thanking youpeterpap3mm@bigpond.com.au

Brad Hammond
September 22, 2007 at 11:08 am

Hi Cameron! I found your website and was checking out the gt-500 build your doing right now. I am currently building a gt-500 Eleanor car myself. Im wanting to know what kind of bonding glue you are using to attach the the side scoops and wheel well flares to the car. I would like to minimize the chances of the fiberglass pieces cracking and separating from the steel body panels. It looks like you are quite far on this process and everything is looking great. I would surely appreciate the advice on this.
Thanks,
Brad

The product we used is called ‘Fusor’ (Code = 127FZ). It should be readily purchased from most automotive paint shops.

Do Not use Sika(Flex)!!!!!!!!!!

The panels need to be primed with an Epoxy primer before the fiber glass is glued. In my case we are using Sikkens EP primer.

This should be rubbed down with some 80 sand paper – but not too much to go back to the metal.

Fiber glass panels will need to be fitted and trimmed to fit exactly to the metal panel cos’ once glued the only way to remove it is to cut it off.

Once fiber glass panels are glued in place – the edges should be blended to the panel using Fiber glass mat and Resin or a Fiber fill product.

Any problems can be smoothed out with a general purpose filler product.

For best results – prime the area again with Epoxy primer and apply a Urethane spray filler. This will all need to be faced down again with sand paper until everything is nice and flat.

This should only be done if you have some good experience at handling this sort of material, it is not easy to do.

And most import, use the correct protective gear, this stuff WILL kill you.

Hope that helps Brad.
Keep me informed 🙂

Cheers
cam

Brad Hammond
October 2, 2007 at 7:46 am

Thank you soo much Cam!
This helps out tremendously. I was really worried about my fiberglass bodywork turning into a mess. I have had experience doing bodywork and paint, and some experience using fiberglass, mostly marine usage but mixing the two together is a whole other story. I have heard horror stories about fiberglass cracking and separating from the steel panels so I figured I should check around and find out the best way to tackle this project. Again thank you very much for finding this info out for me. I am investing in a fresh air system for this project. I have painted in the past using respirators and its just not worth the health risk. I have a bunch of pictures so far and they will be online soon. I will keep you posted and send you a link when they go up.
Thanks again,
Brad

Chris
December 13, 2007 at 1:15 pm

Hi Cameron, like peter i am also interested in where the kit came from in Victoria, if you would you mind passing the contact details on to me please. Also Cameron you mention your builder in the above comment, i was wondering if you are doing the job yourself and if so how experienced you need to be, or are you having someone professionally help you. And any recommendations you would have.

Thanks for stopping by. I’m not building the car myself as my building/restoration experience is minimal. I’m responsible for researching and ordering parts, coordinating things with the states so my builder has everything he needs to get the job done and make sure we have no delays waiting on a part or two.

Have you started your project? Or just researching how to go about it?

As for the kit I don’t have the details of the actual glass guys who made it but I’ve been putting everyone in touch with my builder who can easily organise it for you if you wish?

Mad kit i would also like to get in touch with the source of that kit could u saend me the details thanks

Mike
June 4, 2008 at 12:05 am

Hey I would like the number of your builder to see if I could order the kit.
thanks.

JUSTIN
August 8, 2008 at 10:20 pm

I am also building a eleanor, im only 25 and consider myself fairly inexperienced when it comes to body work. i am definatly willing to learn, however my wallet wont allow for many mistaks. Any advise would be apprciated. Things like fyi’ s on certin pieaces of the kit, or the tail light conversion. aaaahhhh what did i get myself into?

josh
January 23, 2009 at 7:57 pm

i wanna buld a gt 500 from the ground up but i cant find a bild kit anywhair can u help?

Mike
May 24, 2009 at 3:40 pm

I would also love to get in contact with the guy that does up these body kits. Could you let me know? Thanks!

Michael John Ibbotson
July 2, 2010 at 11:01 am

would also love to get in contact with the guy that does up these body kits. Could you let me know? Cheers

Can you provide the information where I can purchase the Eleanor kit? I am in the US.

Greatly appreciated!

Stephen Jewitt
February 28, 2012 at 11:57 pm

It is nice to see that my body kits are here in this blog, the only thing is they are not the current generation of body kit. Of the top of my head these are some of the modifications listed and they still are hand laminated with 3mm lay-up and even thickness.
The changes consist of
(1) New quarter panel finishers. These are made longer to create a tighter gap between the bumper and the finisher panel of 4mm rather than the factory 14mm. The parts are also designed to follow the bumper profile like the metal factory parts not straight though like many fibreglass parts are, so a standard or fibreglass bumper can be used and look good.
(2) New style boot / trunk lid has a smooth inner panel now to give a nicer finish when open. This is not a lip spoiler but a complete replacement part as the movie car is.
(3) New bonnet / hood with nice smooth inner and very slim profile. The mould was made using a modified steel original part as many of the body kits have poor or incorrect swage lines through the length that start at the scuttle panel. This mean they need to be corrected using filler which is time and filler. The hinge mounts are steel plates 230x30x5mm laminated in drilled and threaded with the cock mount reinforced with carbon Kevlar. I have seen nutserts used by other manufacturers. My opinion they are not safe in this application.
(4) New flair all around which look sharper with two clean break lines rather than one radius. This is not that obvious until your car is painted in metallic or pearl and the breaks make to car look much better than the original look. This can be blended into the body or left sharp.
(5) New tail light panel with buckets so no searching for originals.
(6) New lower front bar mould with highlight lines that line up with the flairs. These are still a two-piece arrangement like the original movie car.
(7) The lower support bar has all light mounts unlike some kits that only have inner mounts.
(8) New upper scoop that have an inner skin to locate and have insert mounts.
(9) New side skirts that clip under the sill floor seam for ease of mounting.
(10) New steel headlight buckets with chrome bezels.
(11) Coming soon is the coupe convertible boot / trunk lid and other parts.